Happy Birthday to Connor

After a long nap following the waterfall hike, we celebrated Connor's Birthday. Connor was so happy have a Wall-E cake and a Superman Balloon. He was so excited about his presents that he forgot to eat his cake and Oreo icecream. He got a Pixar car that is hard to find (I had to get it on Ebay) from us. From his uncles, he recieved a remote control Hummer, and from Grandma and Grandpa a remote control tractor and retro spiderman shirt. He was was prety pleased! The only part he didn't enjoy was the "Happy Birthday" song.:)

Now comes the sappy mom stuff...I just can't believe my baby is four already. I never believed parents that said, "Kids just grow too fast.", until I had my own. Time really does fly! I am so grateful to be his mommy. He is for the most part such a good boy and has a great heart. He is so enthusiastic about life and fun to have around. He really does love his Sadie, and can be very sweet with her, when he wants to be. For example, when I drop the two of them off at the gym child care, he sticks right by her the entire hour to "take care of her", even though he has two good buddies that he enjoys to play with there in the drop in care also. He can be shy at times, but is very outgoing and funny around the friends and family that he is comfortable with. He loves sports now, and it will be interesting to see if that passion continues as he gets older. Another love he has is his daddy and grandpas. I don't think there are any other people he would rather be with than them. They are his heroes and I can't think of better men that he could look up to. He is all boy and into all of the "boy stuff" like Super Heroes, cars, trucks, and tractors. Today he was walking around the block with Saide and I. Sadie pushed her pink doll stroller halfway around the block and then decided she was done. Connor wanted to help, but knew it wouldn't be "manly" to push a pink stroller around the block, so he lifted it up over his head, and said, "Look mom, how strong I am." He carried it that way the whole way home. Such a guy!

He is very cautious, and sometimes I wish he would be more adventurous, but I've never had to worry about him leaving my side. (Sadie is another story.) I think I will be grateful for his cautious ways in later years. He loves reading, and has an amazing attention span for such a young kid. Ryan's mom has even started teaching him mini piano lessons, and is surprised by how well he listens and concentrates. All in all, he is a great kid, and I am so glad to have him around! Happy fourth birthday Connor!!!!

Multnomah Falls

Saturday, all the Johnson brothers, our family, and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, headed to Multnomah falls. It is a waterfall about 30 minutes south of Portland, that really is spectacular. I think I heard while I was there, that it's hieght is equal to Niagra Falls. The weather was perfect, and the falls were beautiful. Grandma, Grandpa, and Sadie stayed behind and played while Ryan, Lance, Sean, Chad, and I hiked to the top of the falls. It was only one mile up and one mile down, but pretty steep. I was pround of Connor for walking the whole way. He was pretty tired, but proud that he had done it. I really reccomend to anyone that gets the chance, to visit the falls. It's totally worth it!


Connor and his "favorite" Uncle Lance.


I love Connor's face!


The "Guys"


Are we there yet?


Sadie Loving the Falls with Grandpa!

Jack Johnson

Last Wednesday, Ryan and I got to go to the Jack Johnson concert in Portland. We were really concerned that the concert would be rained out, but looked on the tickets, and it said "rain or shine," so we decided to give it a whirl, and go even if we were going to get soaked. (And I thought August was supposed to be the nicest month of the year here:)) As we were driving to the concert, however, the rain began to taper off. Yeah! Ryan and I had a great time. It was fun to have a date night, and enjoy one of the few bands that we both like. Jack Johnson is super mellow and just fun to listen to. We even recorded a video of Connor's favorite song from the Curious Greorge concert. He loved it! Of Course...thank you to Ryan's parents and brothers for babysitting. (My Favorite part of this photo is the little man in the background) (The beatiful sunset.)
(Aren't we cute?!?!)
Last Wednesday, Ryan and I got to go to the Jack Johnson concert in Portland. We were really concerned that the concert would be rained out, but looked on the tickets, and it said "rain or shine," so we decided to give it a whirl, and go even if we were going to get soaked. (And I thought August was supposed to be the nicest month of the year here:)) As we were driving to the concert, however, the rain began to taper off. Yeah! Ryan and I had a great time. It was fun to have a date night, and enjoy one of the few bands that we both like. Jack Johnson is super mellow and just fun to listen to. We even recorded a video of Connor's favorite song from the Curious Greorge concert. He loved it! Of Course...thank you to Ryan's parents and brothers for babysitting.
"Upside Down"

Summer T- Ball

Connor just finished his second season of T-Ball and he isn't even four yet. Kinda Funny!. This season was much better than the last. We had a great coach who sort of forced Connor to come out of his shell a little bit. (i.e. he made Connor tell him his name;) The weather was also much better than Spring T- Ball here in Washington. Some highlights of the season were Grandma and Grandpa coming to watch, playing on the same team as Olivia and Thomas,hitting lots of "home runs," and snacks after every game and practice! He looks forward to playing "real baseball" where he can hit pitched balls. He actually hits better that way.

Cannon Beach

Last week, while Ryan was off in New York for some training, the kids and I headed to Portland to visit Grandma and Grandpa. As always, the kids and Grandma and Grandpa, were in heaven just hanging out, and I get a bit of a break.:) Probably the highlight of our trip was going to Cannon beach. We ate a yummy lunch in town. They had the cutest "baby buffet" plate that included cheeses, fresh fruit, crackers, and homemade applesauce. Sadie gobbled it up and Connor had his old standby...cheese pizza. We headed to the "Bruce's Candy Kitchen" next where Connor got gummy worms, I indulged in chocolate covered gummy bears (thanks to Anna who got me hooked on those in college), and Sadie ater half of Grandma's carmel corn. By then we were hoping that the fog would go away, and we headed for the beach. Unfortunately the fog stayed, but we had a blast anyway. Connor built a sand castle and Sadie loved getting in the freezing cold water. You can see her in the photos wearing her new Cannon Beach sweatshirt that Grandpa got her because it was colder than expected. For some reason it seems like kids don't really seem to notice if its cold. Her new little sweatshirt was soaked by the end. We took off around 4pm and you would think that Connor would have been very tired, but he and Grandpa went down to the park when we got back to portland to play some baseball and then to Coldstone Creamery for icecream. What a day!!!

Tacoma Zoo with Friends

A few weeks ago Connor, Sadie, and I decided we would go to the zoo. We had a great time with our friends Lisa, Connor, and Baby Regan. They are some of our neighbors that recently moved out of the neighborhood, but still live close. The two "Connor's" have been good buddies since they were about 9 months old! It was a beautiful day and we love the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. It is just the right size for my kids. Connor especially enjoys the Beluga whales and sharks. Sadie liked the play area and little fountains she could spash in.